Management
consulting indicates both the industry
of, and the practice of, helping organizations improve their performance, primarily through the analysis of
existing business problems and development of plans for improvement.
Organizations hire the
services of management consultants for a number of reasons, including gaining external (and presumably
objective) advice and access to the consultants' specialized expertise.
Because of their exposure to
and relationships with numerous organizations, consulting firms are also said to be aware of industry
"best practices", although
the transferability of such practices from one organization to another may be problematic depending on the
situation under consideration
Consultancies may also provide
organizational change management
assistance, development of coaching skills, technology
implementation, strategy development, or operational improvement services. Management consultants generally
bring their own, proprietary methodologies or frameworks to
guide the identification of problems, and to serve as the basis for recommendations for more effective or
efficient ways of
performing business
tasks.
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